SPICE WORLD, THE MOVIE

SYNOPSIS:
A documentary, a thriller, with a little romance and a lot of
comedy, The Spice Girls are in focus for five crazy days in their
hectic schedule in the run up to their first live concert at the
Royal Albert Hall. The adventures with an all star cast combine
to show the kaleidescopic world of five extraordinary girls. As
they hurtle through the metropolis from photo shoots to dance
rehearsals, TV shows, glitzy parties and pounding nightclubs, the
trials and tribulations of their global fame are explored.

"Fresh, outrageous, lively, pert and complex, the Spice
Girls show what makes them a musical phenomenon, on a background
of satire, parody, mayhem and fantasy. Written by award-winning
comedy writer Kim Fuller, who had known the girls for over two
years, the aim was not only to take a contemporary look at the
band, but to capture the spirit of self-parody. And achieve that
he has, with an entertaining ride aboard the Spice Bus, which
looks somewhat like a large geometrical union jack on wheels, and
is decked out like a rainbow of fitness, fun and frivolity. Spice
World glances at the fickle world of showbiz, and showcases the
girls as disarmingly natural and fun-loving, wearing an array of
outfits that range from impossible platform shoes, wild hairdos
to animal print bare-midriff statements, worn to startle. The
stereotype spoofs are intermingled with parody, of which Roger
Moore’s James Bond-villain take-off is the most effective:
Moore strokes the fluffy feline, which becomes a bunny, and
finally a bottle-fed piglet with a diamante collar. Star-gazers
will be amused by the seemingly never-ending cameo appearances
which include the likes of Bob Geldof, Stephen Fry, Elvis
Costello, Dominic West, Jennifer Saunders, Elton John, Kevin
Allen, MeatLoaf and Bob Hoskins, while Barry Humphries’
Kevin McMaxford resembles a relation of his repugnant Les
Patterson persona. High energy, unpretentious and engaging, Spice
World shows that the Girls don’t so much have a life, but
have a schedule, which will no doubt be music to the ears of the
fans."
Louise Keller

"With its 60s look and feel, right from the opening credits
to the ‘ban-the-bomb’ sign on the back of the
sumptuously outfitted Spice Bus, the whole Spice Girls phenomenon
is like a step back into those feelgood years when the Beatles
were centre stage, and London was the centre of the modern and
youthful world. There is as much nostalgia for those fun years in
the film (albeit disguised) as there is self-amusement in the
five girls making it BIG. Exactly why they are a phenomenon is
hard to say (unlike with The Beatles), and calling them a
phenomenon is easier than trying to describe what they actually
do. They have bubbly personalities, but no more so than any other
lively and self assured young Brit lasses, and they have some
singing/performing talents, but hardly enough to make them the
recording superstars they have become. Adored by early teen
females and others with an eye for their confident, easily
digestible antics, they are as enjoyable to watch doing nothing
very special as anyone. The film is not intended as a work of
cinematic art, but even so, some of the forced jokes are TOO
forced, and some of the overacting is simply that, without the
merit of farce. But let’s not be too earnest; young Spice is
better than old punks. "
Andrew L. Urban